capuring data from barcoded froms

[aoatak]

Hi, I defined a simple workflow initiated by watched folder endpoint. workflow has 2 processes: decode and extractToXML. I copy a pdf file to input directory of the watched folder and get the below exception:<br /><br />aused by: ALC-BCF-002-004: PDFException. Caused by: com.adobe.internal.pdftoolkit.core.exceptions.PDFException: Processing of barcode images in dynamic PDF form not supported: No 'page content' found<br /> at com.adobe.barcodedforms.decoder.image.PDFImageIterator.<init>(PDFImageIterator.java:82)<br /> at com.adobe.barcodedforms.decoder.image.ImageIteratorFactory.getInstance(ImageIteratorFactory.java:42)<br /> at com.adobe.barcodedforms.decoder.reader.BarcodeReader.decode(BarcodeReader.java:67)<br /> at com.adobe.livecycle.barcodedforms.BarcodedFormsService.decode(BarcodedFormsService.java:292)<br /> at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)

[Jasmin_Charbonn]

Make sure you save your XDP/PDF as a static PDF when you use barcodes.



Jasmin

[aoatak]

What do you mean by Static PDF? In my process I have to use an interactive pdf form. Can you give any links to any additional information?

[aoatak]

P.S. I use Acrobat Pro to fill in the form.

[Jasmin_Charbonn]

When you create a PDF with Form Designer it can be Static or Dynamic. Static means the layout won't change and dynamic means the layout can change (show hide a section, a page, etc).



The the PDF can be interactive of non-interactive(flat). Interactive mean a user can interact with the document. The most common way is to enter information in fields. Non-Interactive means the user can't interact with the PDF. This is the case when the PDF is for print purpose.



Make sure your PDF is static and interactive.



Jasmin

[kc]

Hi again,



Is it possible in the Workbench to "convert" a dynamic PDF into a static one? If this is possible you can still use your dynamic PDF's with barcodes and just "convert" before you decode it in Workbench?



Is this possible in any way?



Sincerely

Kim

[kc]

As you might have guessed I am also experimenting with barcodes. In my scenario I have scanned the barcode (with a document scanner to PDF) and drops it in a watched folder.



When I process it with the decode-service I get some xml out which is not at all like the xml I normally get from the form I am using. I get something like the following:



<xb:scanned_image xmlns:xb="http://decoder.barcodedforms.adobe.com/xmlbeans" path="pdf" version="1.0">

<xb:decode>

<xb:date>2008-02-29T13:45:50.326+01:00</xb:date>

<xb:host_name>dafolo25.dafolo.local</xb:host_name>

<xb:status type="success">

<xb:message/>

</xb:status>

</xb:decode>

<xb:barcode id="1">

<xb:header symbology="pdf417">

<xb:location page_no="1">

<xb:coordinates>

<xb:point x="0.0" y="-0.06313131"/>

<xb:point x="0.9722222" y="-0.06313131"/>

<xb:point x="0.9722222" y="1.0"/>

<xb:point x="0.0" y="1.0"/>

</xb:coordinates>

</xb:location>

</xb:header>

<xb:body>

<xb:content encoding="utf-8">fld_DatoCPRnummer
></sub_Barn2
><sub_Tilknyttede2
><rbt_OmraadecenterBestemmer
/><fld_Sagsbehandler
/><fld_Dagtilbud
/><fld_Skole
/><fld_Andet
/></sub_Tilknyttede2
></Side1
></form1
>36</fld_Adresse
><fld_PostBy
>0100 Kikkebakkeboligby</fld_PostBy
><fld_Email
>kc@dafolo.dk</fld_Email
><fld_EftervaernDatoK
>29.02.2008</fld_EftervaernDatoK
><rbt_CivilstandsBestemmer
>1</rbt_CivilstandsBestemmer
></sub_Ansoeger
><sub_Sambo
><fld_Navn
/><fld_DatoCPRnummer
/></sub_Sambo
><sub_Boernudenberegning
><fld_Antal
/><fld_DatoCPRnummer1
/><fld_DatoCPRnummer2
/><fld_DatoCPRnummer3
/></sub_Boernudenberegning
><sub_Barn1
><fld_Barnetsnavn
>Pernille Kjeldsen</fld_Barnetsnavn
><rbt_Friplads
>2</rbt_Friplads
><fld_DatoCPRnummer
>160191-2038</fld_DatoCPRnummer
></sub_Barn1
><sub_Tilknyttede1
><rbt_OmraadecenterBestemmer
/><fld_Sagsbehandler
/><fld_Dagtilbud
/><fld_Skole
/><fld_Andet
/></sub_Tilknyttede1
><sub_Barn2
><fld_Barnetsnavn
>Amanda Hansen</fld_Barnetsnavn
><rbt_Friplads
>2</rbt_Friplads
><fld_DatoCPRnummer
>030904-9004</fld_DatoCPRnummer
></sub_Barn2
><sub_Tilknyttede2
><rbt_OmraadecenterBestemmer
/><fld_Sagsbehandler
/><fld_Dagtilbud
/><fld_Skole
/><fld_Andet
/></sub_Tilknyttede2
></Side1
></form1
></xb:content>

</xb:body>

</xb:barcode>

</xb:scanned_image>



I am wondering what the coordinates tag is for, and if there is a way to get the formatting and order of the tags corrected in the xml output without manipulating it my self.



I hope you can help me with this issue



Sincerely

Kim

[Former Community Member]

Use the output from the decode operation as input to the Extract To XML operation - the result is XDP data.



http://livedocs.adobe.com/livecycle/es/wb_help/00000816.html

[kc]

Yes - thank you, that made the xml-encoding much better, however the order of the fields are still garbled.



My xml-structure looks like this:



<form1>

<mySubform>

<myElement>Element1<\myElement>

<myElement2>Element2<\myElement2>

<\mySubform>

<\form1>



but the result from the Extract-To_XML service gives:



<myElement>Element2<\myElement>

<\mySubform>

<form1>

<mySubform>

<\form1>

<myElement>Element1<\myElement>



I guess that my error is in the setup of the decoder-service or in the barcode, but I really cannot see what I am doing wrong...



Please help.



Sincerely

Kim

[kc]

Hi again,



I just forgot to say that I have scanned a printed form with a barcode with a pdfmailer/scanner and just dropped the output-pdf in the watched folder. Should this pose any trouble?



Sincerely

Kim

[Former Community Member]

Scanning the image as PDF and dropping to watched folder is a common usage.



I asked a colleague about the malformed XML....



scott

[kc]

Hi again Scott,



Thanks for your effort - I really appreciate it.



I have just tried to change the barcode to not to compress the barcode before creating the barcode. This seems to help - is this a known issue or is it just a coincidence?



Sincerely

Kim

[kc]

Hi again Scott,



Have you heard anything from your cooleague about this issue?



SIncerely

Kim

[Former Community Member]

Hi Kim, it sounds like you are embedding XML in the barcode and then using the convert to XML service, is this the case?



Try using the default tab delimited format including field names and you should not run into any problems.



Lee.

[kc]

Yes, I am trying to capture the xml in my barcodes.



The reason for this is that the output from the barcode should follow the standard hierarchy which is stored in the hierarchy of the form elements (sometimes two fields can have the same name within different subforms). The solution that I am creating must conform to this xml-standard as the data might be used for other purposes than just workspace-usage.



Is it at all possible to use the delimitter-tab option and still preserve this requirement?



I hope you can help me with this issue - as capturing the XML in a barcode seems almost as an impossible task for even simple forms.

[Former Community Member]

The tab delimited option is probably your best alternative as it can be converted automatically into XML by using the barcode conversion service. XML inside PDF417 barcodes is generally very limited because of the fact that the tags and special characters take up so much space.



For a full explanation on the space requirements, take a look at this presentation that I put together: http://my.adobe.acrobat.com/barcodedformselearningpdf417bestpractices/



Barcode Capacity-wise if you were to drag and drop the address block from Designer's customer library onto a form, without data you'd have 72 characters in a tab-delimited format (includes field names) and 189 with XML.

[kc]

Hi again,



OK - this sounds great. Now I am just wondering - will the delimited tab structure reflect the structure of the hierarchy or the structure of the xml-schema if it is attached/embedded into the form?



Thanks for your effort so far Lee - I really appreciate it.



Sincerely

Kim

[Former Community Member]

The structure on the back end is not going to reflect the schema that you are looking for up-front but you can easily put together some XSLT that will transform the xml output into the format you need.



XSLT could be re used throughout your organization so nothing "proprietary" to your application.

[kc]

Hi again - I can not make the barcode that is generated for my formdata to contain all data unless I use compression, however when I use compression the xml I get from the Extract to XML service is REALLY garbled (e.g. with numeric values assigned to a name field and so on). What can I do to make compression work for my forms when I use the Extract-to XML service?

The only setting that I m unsure of is the "Line delimitter" and "Field-delimitter". In Designer I have set the "Delimitter" setting to "Tab" but in Workbench I don't know which setting I should use for the fields mentioned above...



Please help me



Sincerely

Kim

[Former Community Member]

Have you considered putting more than one barcode on the form to avoid using compression?

[kc]

Hi again,



Yes - I have considered putting more than one barcode on the form, but this solution is less applicable in my scenario as some of the forms I need to put barcodes on is pretty big. In fact not using compression would require more than six or seven barcodes - which in my opinion is not a good solution (using a hand held scanner).



I am still wondering what goes wrong when I am using compression, can anybody help me with this? Is the compression functionality still under development or is my problem a solo-glitch?



Please help



Sincerely

Kim